As first noted by Mediaite, MSNBC contributor Jimmy Williams revealed a startling trauma from his life on Tuesday's "The Dylan Ratigan Show".

During a panel discussion about the Penn State sexual abuse scandal involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, Williams revealed that he had been sexually abused in his past.

"This is not an easy thing for anybody. I think a lot of Americans probably have been sexually and mentally abused in their lives. I was," said Williams. He continued, "And you don't know what it's like until it happens to you, and you don't know how to react until you react. I didn't do anything about it. I didn't do a damn thing about it. Nothing. For years. I let it keep happening. And you know what, it didn't make me gay, it didn't make me screwed up in the head, it didn't make me volatile, it's just a part of my life."

Williams also shared his thoughts on the Penn State scandal:

Williams: "I don't know what that kid went through or those 10 kids went through. I know what I went through. I didn't tell anybody. I didn't tell my parents. I didn't tell my priest. I didn't tell anybody. I moved on with my life. Doesn't make that kid better than me, or me better than him or her or whoever it is. But you don't know until it happens to you. If you know about it, you've got a duty to tell people, and if you don't, then you're just as bad as the person violating that kid."